JEF - Jefferies Group

[mcliu]

Any chance comp plan gets voted down? 


https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005683/en/
Leucadia Has Repurchased 20 Million Shares of Common Stock Since April 10, 2018

[LowIQinvestor]

Leucadia Has Repurchased 20 Million Shares of Common Stock Since April 10, 2018
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005683/en/Leucadia-Repurchased-20-Million-Shares-Common-Stock#.WwRAov7K-NQ.twitter

[scorpioncapital]

So by this buyback move they have instantly achieved their 8% earnings per share growth target - or at least part of it? Perhaps they were thinking the easiest way to get the comp payout

[benhacker]

So by this buyback move they have instantly achieved their 8% earnings per share growth target - or at least part of it? Perhaps they were thinking the easiest way to get the comp payout

Half of the 8% target is based on growth in TBV / share... not earnings.  The other half is shareholder (total) return.

I think buybacks will help both, but not for the reason you imply.

[arcticfox]

Is anyone headed to the annual meeting tomorrow. If so any thoughts or notes would be greatly appreciated. I listen to the investor day call every October and and have shared some notes. Happy to share those.

I was pleased to see that they bought back some stock. I have been a longtime holder. Paid in the $25 range years back and added between $16-19 in 2016. I have always thought that once they demonstrated book value growth again that the stock would revalue towards book. Not yet. Also slightly disappointed to see they announced the transactions and bought back $500mm of stock in a month yet it's still down 10 percent ytd and lagging most peers.

This stock puzzles me. They are not that bad.

[Spekulatius]

Is anyone headed to the annual meeting tomorrow. If so any thoughts or notes would be greatly appreciated. I listen to the investor day call every October and and have shared some notes. Happy to share those.

I was pleased to see that they bought back some stock. I have been a longtime holder. Paid in the $25 range years back and added between $16-19 in 2016. I have always thought that once they demonstrated book value growth again that the stock would revalue towards book. Not yet. Also slightly disappointed to see they announced the transactions and bought back $500mm of stock in a month yet it's still down 10 percent ytd and lagging most peers.

This stock puzzles me. They are not that bad.

I said this before, but GS even at current prices is still a better deal. Pay up 1.25x book for a first rate investment bank, rather than 1x tangible book for a 2nd grade one. Profitability and even OE are lower for GS too.

[scorpioncapital]

Some insurance companies sometimes trade below book and are a pile of bonds. I think the book Davis Dynasty describes how the guy got very wealthy just buying and selling insurance companies based on valuation.

[Spekulatius]

Some insurance companies sometimes trade below book and are a pile of bonds. I think the book Davis Dynasty describes how the guy got very wealthy just buying and selling insurance companies based on valuation.

I have generally done well selling decent insurance companies below tangible book. Currently there isn’t much available, but there have been times, when you could buy decent insurance companies for 0.8x book.

[LowIQinvestor]

Leucadia National Corporation Changes Name to Jefferies Financial Group Inc.
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180523006298/en/

[Mungerish]

 I was at the meeting and it was a nothing burger in terms of any new information. Perhaps the worst LUK meeting I have ever attended in terms of Q&A...Yet the highest turn out in terms of shares voted in favor of the name change, etc.

This was not the only paradox

They are trying to simplify the LUK/JEF story and get analyst coverage, which is good. There are lots of good things happening which have all been previously disclosed. The irony is that they still have the meeting in a basement with no web cast or transcript...Where they talk about getting more coverage. This is my main bitch.

Handler mentioned that Joe and Ian were/are legends, which is true. Brian chimed in that value has way under performed growth and that is part of the reason they lag in share price. They are all frustrated with the share price and that is why they have taken to buying in the stock now that they have excess liquidity and are ready for the next down turn in that sense.

 The real reason the stock under performs in my view is that they are NOT Joe and Ian even though they have done a very good job with the  hand they were dealt....So they can't get away with doing the bare minimum of being a public company and get a decent share price. Joe and Ian could get away with that.... ( Meaning no quarterly calls, AM in a basement, one investor day per year in spite of having a very complicated story) The real frustration for me is that they are in the business of employing analysts, raising capital, underwriting securities, etc....Surely they do not need the likes of me to tell them this.

My thesis is that they need to become more "promotional" in their view...which I would call more traditional.... and highlight the good things they have accomplished and I believe they will. It shouldn't be trading where it is and they are need to change that by owning the fact that they need to behave more closely to their peers in terms of investor relations.

The fundamentals of why I think its undervalues have all been discussed here so I'm not going to repost any of that. Cheers!